Quote:
Originally Posted by Tengocity
One of the best posts I've ever read on this website! One point I would make is regarding whether it is appropriate to wear a sports watch with a tux. Part of me agrees, but then I lost interest in watches, sold the 6 I had, and decided to buy just one watch that I feel I could wear in any situation. I ended up with a Rolex GMT Master, as I travel a bit, and I thought it more useful than being able to dive to 300m or time myself. A black face and metal bracelet makes it go with pretty much any outfit, whether it is a suit at work or jeans at the weekend. So I suppose I see my watch more like I see a car, than one of my outfits.. one really should be enough!
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There's no denying that at the end of the day, one can wear whatever watch one wants with any outfit. The watch is neither the reason one is at the event (unless perhaps it is a watch-oriented affair) nor is it a reason one would be shunned while there. Even with my fairly rigid dress code sensibilities, I wouldn't think of actually having negative thoughts about a person due to the watch they are wearing. That's just silly and sophomoric to behave and think like that. Yes, I would wonder why a person wearing a mega-thousand dollar sport watch at a dress function didn't buy just a cheap dress watch, but then I wouldn't bother to ask them why the didn't because I know it really doesn't matter. It's just a fashion thing and I certainly don't expect anyone to be fashion conscious as I am. If one is, great, but it's not necessary or expected.
For myself, having an interest in things stylish and having the means to indulge that interest, I am pretty fussy about what I wear along with when and where I wear certain things. I also have quite few occasions to wear a tuxedo -- definitely not as many as orchestra musicians and conductors or certain waiters, but with cultural and charity events along with the holiday season, 20+ a year -- so I just go ahead and wear a formal, super dressy watch. If one only goes to a couple or so such dressy things annually, there's not much reason to buy a watch, much less an expensive one, just to be "fully turned out" on those few nights.
At the end of the day, it makes far more sense to buy a watch that one can wear 80% or 90% of the time and make it do for the remainder of occasions that might come up. I would only in a few cases specifically encourage a friend/acquaintance to buy a fine dress watch:
- The person indicates that's what they want. Nothing wrong here as it's far easier, and more stylish, to dress down a dressy watch than to dress up a casual one. There are just a few types of dress watch that don't dress down well.
- The person is just so flush in disposable income that I know tossing several grand to buy one for just a few times a year isn't going to be an issue for them. Of course this requires that I actually know the person.
- The person asks for overall collection input and what's lacking is a full on dress watch and their collection already has a bunch of pricey watches in it.
For several folks I know who want a truly dressy watch and don't want to spend major bucks ($5K+ is about what I think most folks would call "major"), I have suggested high-end Chinese watches. This has worked out well for a few of them. They get a very nice and nice looking watch that's very well made and they get it for something between $2K and $4K or so. There are also some American and German brands that are good for this purpose too.
Indeed, once one realizes that these days there's almost no such thing as a poor quality watch above the $500 mark, buying a watch from a watchmaker that isn't so well known is one of the very best ways to get a great deal. The only real thing one has to do is make sure the company is actually a watch maker and not just a company that charges mid-range to high prices for something that should be a low priced thing. Stauer is one company that does just that. Even with Stauer, it's not that the watches are crap, it's just that they cost far more than any legit watch company would charge for them. Daniel Steiger is another such company.
But to be sure, my issue with those two brands isn't that they overcharge. It's that they overcharge at low price points. It's an ethical thing in my mind. Watches costing about $100 - $1000 are often bought by consumers who don't have tons of disposable cash to spend on things and not get the maximum value for their dollar. Those folks are looking for and truly deserve and need to get good value. It's different for folks spending $5K+.
The latter group are buying luxury products and they have to know already that a huge part of what their money goes to is just the cache of a given brand's name. They are spending large sums mostly because they can. They don't want a crappy watch, but then at those prices, they won't get one either. I am certain there's not one $5K+ watch on the market that is going to disappoint the person who buys and wears it. Yes, every once in a while, even Rolex and PP and their ilk have a single watch ( out of the however many thousands they make) that is a lemon, but that's not what I'm talking about.
All the best.